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Improving Students' Listening Skills

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A major challenge I have encountered during this crazy COVID year is a decrease in the amount of Spanish my students are hearing, causing a definite decrease in their listening skills. I have spent quite a bit of time reflecting on the causes, and have come to realize a few things:  1. Students in Spanish 2+ spent most of last spring during the COVID lockdown! This probably resulted in 30-40 hours less of listening in Spanish, due to classes being online and a reduced number of contact hours with the teacher.  2. At my school, students do NOT attend class on Fridays this year because of our scheduled student support days. This day has been a game changer  for all this year - it gave students time to work with teachers one-on-one AND it gave teachers time to collaborate and plan. However, it caused us to lose 25% of the contact time with students (1 out of 5 days each week!) I estimate this is about 35 hours of Spanish loss.  3. On top of the student support days at my school, we decide
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Leveling UP

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Howdy! Let me take a quick moment to introduce myself. My name is Meredith and I am a Spanish teacher in southern Minnesota. This is my eleventh (I think!) year teaching, and I have taught both math and Spanish, from grade 7 all the way to college in my eleven years. I have a young family, so I am constantly attempting to balance my teaching and home life albeit poorly. However, I am giving myself plenty of grace this year because, well, COVID, and the whole teaching in-person, hybrid and distance learning (I can now check all three!).  I currently teach with the SOMOS curriculum and include Señor Wooly, lots of music, novels, and cultural topics interspersed throughout the year. I am SO thankful for the freedom and flexibility that my administration  and department have provided me!  With the craziness of this year, I have tried many different tech resources. Some favorites are Nearpod, Blooket, Gimkit, Google Slides, and Jamboard. While many of these resources overlap with some featu
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